Rally’s noticed protein showing up in everything from waffles to Doritos lately — and he’s got a theory about why. A Tufts University study with older adults reveals a surprising twist: protein alone didn’t make anyone stronger. Rally breaks down what actually works, plus five simple steps to build real strength at home. No gym, no fancy gear required.
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
Oh hello, Beautiful People! Rally Preston here.
Welcome back to the Silver Beast Podcast. I am so glad you’re here.
So you’ve been grocery shopping lately, right?
And I can’t believe how many different products have added protein in them these days. Have you noticed that?
I bought oatmeal a while back with added protein – and it seemed like a good idea at the time. They were those individual packets of oatmeal. Big name brand too. Anyway, microwaved it, tasted it, and it wasn’t that good. Not at all. In fact it looked like watered-down Elmers glue with lumps in it. I probably could’ve used it to set fence posts, instead of concrete.
But yeah, look around the next time you go grocery shopping. There’s protein waffles. Protein pasta. Protein ice cream. Protein soda pop. Protein Poptarts. And chips, yeah…I don’t know how we survived this long without protein Doritos.
Anyway, protein’s having a moment here. It looks like everybody’s chasing it.
And look, protein’s good for us. I get it. Especially as we get older, our muscles need more of it, not less. And that’s because of anabolic resistance — which basically means our muscles don’t respond to protein as easily as they used to.
So this protein craze isn’t totally whacky, I guess. In fact, many of us may not be getting enough.
But here’s where today’s episode gets interesting – yeah, for a change. There’s this new study Tufts University did.
Researchers gave older adults, all 65 and up, either whey protein or a placebo. And this went on for 24 weeks – so about six months. And the point was to measure their strength. So the researchers figured more protein would mean stronger muscles. Okay.
So can you guess what happened to their strength?
Well, nothing, actually. They measured this. The protein had no effect on their strength. They didn’t get stronger.
So I guess the researchers were surprised by this. Blood tests showed the study’s participants’ bodies were primed and ready to build muscle right at the start. Still, they got nothing strength-wise.
So what went wrong here? I bet you can guess.
Well, yeah, the participants didn’t exercise, you know; they needed to get some kind of resistance training going. So the protein they took did absolutely nothing to beef up their strength. Now protein’s great for other things… your skin tissue, organs, hormones, your immune system, bones…and so on.
But, what this study proved, at least for older adults, is it takes more than just protein to build muscle. You’ve got to add exercise if you want to be stronger.
Now let me briefly mention this other study here; you’ll see the difference. This was a big study with over 20,000 older adults — and sure enough, protein paired with resistance training is the magic combination.
Now, this study showed protein plus resistance training builds muscle, builds leg strength, even helps you walk faster. All three. So that’s a pretty good deal there.
Oh, and here’s an important note for you — animal-based protein, whey protein especially, worked best. It digests fast, it’s loaded with amino acids, and especially one called leucine, that one really kickstarts muscle building.
So, side note here — I do whey protein myself. I’ve been doing it for years. A scoop in a smoothie, very basic.
And I lift weights too – not as heavy as I used to, but I can still sling the iron pretty good for an old guy. So, just saying, I might be a little biased when it comes to getting enough protein.
So why does all this matter so much for us now?
Well, if you’re at least as old as I am — you remember the milkman used to drop off those glass bottles of milk on the porch. We didn’t think twice about protein back then, right? We just drank our milk, ate the meatloaf, or whatever Mom cooked up. No one gave a hoot about anabolic resistance.
But now, our muscles do need us to pay attention to this. Because after 30, we start losing muscle. It happens slowly, but yeah, there’s some shrinkage going on there. And muscle loss is not good for keeping our balance; we’re more likely to take a tumble, so we need our strength – we need strong muscles. We don’t need a busted hip or something. We want to keep our independence, right? So this is worth paying attention to – this protein and resistance training combo.
Now, you may feel like you’ve been slacking lately. Maybe not really paying attention to your protein intake and exercising — well, that’s okay; this is fixable. Really. And you don’t need to become a buff bodybuilder here – unless you want to of course.
You just need those two things working together. Protein and some kind of regular movement that challenges your muscles. Because we’re not hopping on our Schwinn Sting-Rays and racing down the block these days, right? But we still need to push our muscles.
Now I know, you may not want to join some gym full of grunting twenty-somethings in spandex and tank tops. Well, you don’t have to. Unless you want to – you might like that!
But you can do this at home. With resistance bands. Some light dumbbells. Bodyweight exercises. Chair squats. Even carrying your own groceries in from the car counts.
So when you see an opportunity to give those muscles a little pump, you should take it. And actually, more than that, you should probably start some sort of regular exercise routine. Just make it a habit.
And as far as how much protein you should get daily, just divide your weight by two…and that’s how many grams of protein you should shoot for every day. For example I’m about 150 pounds, so I need at least 75 grams of protein a day. Spread out over the whole day of course, not just at one meal. That’d be a little rough, especially on the kidneys.
Alright, let’s turn this into something you can actually use today. Here’s your Silver Beast Action Steps.
So step one. Do a quick protein check. At your next meal, ask yourself — is there real protein on this plate? Eggs, chicken, fish, Greek yogurt, beans. Something.
Alright, step two. Spread it out. Don’t load up all your protein at dinner and skip it at breakfast. Aim for a little protein at every meal. Your body can only use so much at once anyway, so spread it out.
Step Three. Add resistance training, twice a week if you can. That’s the minimum. Doesn’t need to be complicated. Resistance bands, light weights, bodyweight exercises, whatever gets your muscles working against something.
Step four. Pair up protein and exercise, on purpose. This is the whole point of today’s episode. Protein by itself is kind of a dud for strength anyway. But protein with resistance training? Oh, now you’ve got something that’s going to make you stronger.
And step five. Check with your doctor before ramping up protein, especially if you’ve got any kidney concerns. That’s always a smart move.
Now, look — none of this is about turning into some muscle-bound superhero. That’s probably just my fantasy.
This is about staying strong enough to get up off the couch without a big production. Strong enough to carry your own groceries, or a grandkid maybe.
And all that’s worth the effort, I think.
Alright, quick reminder before we wrap up here. I’m not a doctor. I just read the studies and try to make sense of them for us. So definitely check with your doctor before making changes to your diet or exercise routine, especially if you’ve got any health conditions going on.
Just two simple things is your takeaway from the episode — protein and resistance training. Those two, working together. Not magic; it’s just teamwork.
Alright, that’s another one for the books, Boomer babies. This is Rally Preston. And hey, thank you so much for being here. I will catch you next time on the Silver Beast Podcast. Take care!